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Summary Strategy & Organisation
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Summary of the mandatory lecture clips of Strategy & Organisation, including a short summary of all articles.
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Pre-master BA – Strategy & OrganizationSummary
Victor Roos
Content
Topic Page
Introduction 2
§1 Competitive strategy 5
§2 Corporate strategy 8
§3 Strategic planning 12
§4 Strategic decision-making 17
§5 Strategy & Context 21
§6 Strategy implementation & Organizational change 25
,Strategy & Organization – Pre-master BA – Summary
Introduction
Lecture 1, Article 1.4, Article 6.4
Article
Article 1.4, Article 6.4
Article 1.4
Thinking about strategy (teaching note)
J.W. Stoelhorst, 2008
The main idea is that there is not just one way to tackle strategic management. The field of strategic
management is a collection of concepts, empirical research findings, theories, and controversies that
result from the work of different individuals with their own particular view of strategy. Three aspects
of strategic management can be distinguished: the process of strategy (how firms develop strategies),
the content of strategy (what are good strategies) and the context of strategy (how is strategy related
to organizational and environmental characteristics).
The why, how, key constructs and limitations can be found in the article summary and throughout the introduction
section.
Article 6.4
Reflecting on the strategy process
Mintzberg & Lampel, 1999
The main idea is that this article the evolution of strategy can be described in ten schools of strategy
(three are discussed in this summary). These schools represent different processes of strategy making
or different parts of the same process.
The why, how, key constructs and limitations can be found in the article summary and throughout the introduction
section.
Definition of strategy
Lecture 1
A strategy is a plan of actions, usually with a limited time horizon. It is a plan about how firms reach
their goals by being unique and creating value.
Companies reach their goals by value creation. They create value on an individual level (talent) and
firm level (assets). The mostest argument says that the firm with the most talent/assets will create
more value than its competitors. This means that: (1) talent leads to value creation, and (2) the
accumulation of assets leads to performance. However, the relationship between acquisitions and firm
performance is negative, and the relationship between diversification and firm performance is mixed.
Therefore, we may conclude that performance doesn’t emerge naturally; it requires some sort of
coordination: a strategy. Unexplained variance and negative relationships at different levels implies
that strategy really matters form firm performance.
All functional areas of management are important, but integration and alignment can help businesses
to improve performance.
2
Victor Roos
, Strategy & Organization – Pre-master BA – Summary
Strategy
Content Process Context
Positioning school Design school Process school
Resource-based school Planning school
Week 1 + 2 Week 3 + 4 Week 5 + 6
Prescriptive school; strategy should be …
Descriptive school; strategy is …
Content: what strategies should be.
Process: how strategies are realized.
Context: how the environment affects strategy.
Standard model of strategy
Lecture 1, Article 1.4, Article 6.4
The standard model of strategy is a three-step process:
- Strategic analysis: formulating organizational objectives (including expectations of the firm’s
stakeholders), internal (strengths & weaknesses) and external (opportunities and threats)
analysis and a SWOT-analysis which leads to the identification of the strategic issue that the
firm faces. The strategic issues highlight the main questions that a firm needs to confront to
meet its objectives.
- Strategic options and choice: possible strategies to deal with the strategic issues. A firm should
consider suitability (does the strategy deal with the strategic issues), acceptability (is the
strategy acceptable to the firm’s stakeholders) and feasibility (will the firm be able to execute
the strategy).
- Strategic implementation: the chosen
strategy is broken down into detailed plans,
responsibilities and budgets are assigned
and performance measures to control the
implementation of the strategy are agreed
upon.
The standard model of strategy is developed
through the 1990’s and is a combination of the
design school and the planning school. The
positioning school and the resource-based school
added substance in the way the internal and
external analysis should be executed. The process
school (descriptive school of thought) is more about
observing how strategy actually takes shape in the
everyday practice of firms.
Development of different schools over time
- 1960’s, the design school: a process of conception. Strategy is the essential fit between internal
strengths and weaknesses and external threats and opportunities. Senior management
formulates clear, simple, and unique strategies. This school looks farther ahead to a strategic
perspective.
3
Victor Roos
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